The present invention relates generally to user adjustable or expandable materials for use in protective apparel or garments. More specifically, a user adjustable or expandable material for use in an adjustable protective garment is disclosed. A garment using such a material will be capable of providing some protection for an individual in a hazardous environment while permitting easy size adjustability. Protective apparel or garments, such as coveralls and gowns, designed to provide barrier protection to a wearer are well known in the art. Such protective garments are used in situations where isolation of a wearer from a particular environment is desirable, or it is desirable to inhibit or retard the passage of hazardous liquids and biological contaminates through the garment to the wearer.
For example, in the medical and health-care industry, particularly with surgical procedures, a primary concern is isolation of the medical practitioner from patient fluids such as blood, saliva, perspiration, etc. Protective garments rely on the barrier properties of the fabrics used in the garments, and on the construction and design of the garment. Openings or seams in the garments may be unsatisfactory, especially if the seams or openings are located in positions where they may be subjected to stress and/or direct contact with the hazardous substances.
Originally, surgical gowns were made of linen, the gowns being sterilized prior to use in the operating room. Linen gowns were not capable of preventing “strikethrough” of various liquids encountered during surgical procedures. As a result, the wearer's clothes came into contact with blood and the like, and a path was established for the transmission of bacteria to and from the wearer of the gown. Additionally, linen gowns, due to their high cost, had to be used a number of times, thus necessitating laundering and sterilization between successive uses.
In an attempt to reduce strike-through of liquids and to eliminate the need for repeated laundering and sterilization, disposable gowns were made from fluid repellent nonwoven fabrics. These gowns reduced liquid strike-through for a limited time. However, due to the generally inextensible nature of these nonwoven fabric constructions typically they tend to have less ability to conform to the body than the previously used linens or knits. In order to accommodate for a range of body shapes and sizes, the gown is designed to be loose fitting especially in the chest region, sleeve length, and gown length. Making the gown loose fitting generally minimizes the possibility that the gown may otherwise be undesirably too tight in some area or areas. However, this creates the very obvious problem that the gown will be too big for some wearers. By making the gown oversize a wearer having body dimensions smaller than the maximum size contemplated by the gown is subject to areas or regions of the gown or sleeve that hang or are caused to hang loosely. This phenomenon is known as “blousing”. Unfortunately blousing often occurs in or at regions which may be undesirable for the intended use of the gown. Such areas often include the chest region, sleeve area, and the overall length of the gown itself.
Moreover, many health care facilities purchase only the extra large size version of surgical gowns in order to minimize the volume of different inventory they must maintain on site. In order to fit these gowns to an individual who may be smaller than that intended by the gown size, the typical wearer resorts to taping sections of the gown together to minimize blousing, for example, in the sleeve area or chest region as well as cutting portions of the gown away so as to shorten the overall length of the gown or shorten the sleeve length.
Thus, a need exists for an improvement in materials which may provide some degree of adjustability to an end user that may be incorporated into user worn protective apparel or garments. Such a material would be capable of being easily incorporated into the protective garment and would also be economically cost effective to implement and practice.